In this episode of Waking Up Bipolar, Chris Cole speaks with Victoria Maxwell—mental health speaker, performer, and wellness warrior. She lives with bipolar disorder, anxiety and psychosis, and for more than 17 years has been presenting keynotes and workshops on mental illness and recovery, creativity, wellness and self-care.

Victoria Maxwell’s keynote performances and workshops help individuals and organizations comfortably talk about mental health and better understand the ‘insider’s’ experience of mental illness and recovery. More importantly, she reduces stigma of this, one of the very last taboos, and offers hope and tools to build wellness to flourish in life.

She’s a member of CREST.BD, a global research team on bipolar disorder, and blogs for Psychology Today. Her most recent keynote show, ‘That’s Just Crazy Talk’ was named one of the top evidence-based, anti-stigma interventions by the Mental Health Commission of Canada. The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health honored her as a top Canadian leader in mental health. She’s appeared on CNN, in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.

As you’ll hear in our conversation, Victoria Maxwell has a depth of wisdom and humility, which she utilizes on her own path of recovery, all the while helping others do the same. She calls to my mind what it truly means to be a wounded healer, and I am honored to present her now.

Chris Cole hosts the Waking Up Bipolar podcast, focused on the intersection of bipolar disorder and spiritual awakening. He is the author of The Body of Chris: A Memoir of Obsession, Addiction, and Madness, inspired by his own journey of spiritual unfolding and mental health challenges. Chris Cole offers life coaching for any number of mental health conditions, specializing in bipolar disorder and spiritual emergence. Chris’s experience with addiction, disordered eating, body dysmorphia, psychosis, and spiritual emergency allows him to relate to a wide range of clients. He utilizes a holistic approach to mental health which views wellness in physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual domains. Learn more about Chris and his work at colecoaching.com.

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